Hauʻoli Lā Mei 🌺
May brings spring’s renewal to Turtle Island. As the land awakens and medicines grow, communities are reminded that healing is personal, cultural, collective, and intergenerational.
This month, we honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and Relatives. May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for MMIW/MMIR, and the 2026 National Week of Action is May 4–8. Communities are encouraged to wear red, share resources, display awareness posters, and support families seeking justice.
May is also Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the histories and ongoing contributions of AANHPI communities. In psychology and mental health, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander scholars have expanded our understanding of healing, culture, identity, trauma, and community wellness.
A key contribution is the recognition that Native Hawaiian identity, culture, land connection, and cultural reclamation protect mental health. Research shows that cultural identity can buffer stress, depression, and anxiety among Native Hawaiian youth, and ongoing studies continue to explore the role of cultural reclamation in wellness. (Maoli) & Phan, 2024)
This month, consider learning about Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, PhD, professor and chair of Native Hawaiian Health, whose work centers on culturally relevant, community-based health interventions; G. E. Kawika Allen, PhD, a Native Hawaiian and Tongan counseling psychology scholar; Kealoha Fox, PhD, a Kanaka Maoli scientist, traditional practitioner, and health equity leader; and Nadine Nakamura, PhD, a multicultural psychology scholar focused on LGBTQ people of color, immigrants, asylum seekers, and liberation-focused practice. Dr. Wendy Peters, PhD, is a Native Hawaiian psychologist whose work bridges culture, science, and human development. She focuses on the bio-psycho-social factors shaping health, especially for vulnerable and underserved communities. Her approach blends Indigenous knowledge, systems thinking, and integrative healing practices to better understand how culture, values, and lived experiences influence well-being.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental Health Awareness Month encourages us to focus on prevention, connection, and culturally grounded care, not just crisis response. For Indigenous communities, prevention extends beyond clinical treatment to include connection to land, ceremony, language, kinship, food, movement, storytelling, and the restoration of relationships with culture and community.
Native and Indigenous mental health approaches emphasize spirituality, culture, community-level prevention, and collective healing, rather than viewing mental health solely as an individual issue. (D’souza et al., 2024). For example, Native American Connections highlights spirituality and culture as central to growth and healing.
Holding Mental Health with Compassion
If you or someone you love is experiencing emotional distress, crisis, or thoughts of self-harm, support is available:
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United States: Call or text 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7)
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Canada: Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645 (evenings)
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StrongHearts Native Helpline (U.S.): 1-844-7NATIVE (762-8483) — confidential, culturally-grounded support for Native and Indigenous peoples affected by violence
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If you are in immediate danger, please contact local emergency services
If you are outside these regions, we encourage reaching out to local Indigenous organizations, health centers, or community leaders for culturally relevant support.
Psychology, Insurance, and Policy Updates for 2025–2026
Updates: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY2025 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule on July 10, 2024. Find more info: https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/government/cms-federal-rule
Medicare changes in 2025. The final rule on the 2025 Medicare physician fee schedule brings some good news for psychologists and aims to increase access to behavioral health services. https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/government/2025-medicare-changes
Extensions of Telehealth access options. https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/telehealth-policy/telehealth-policy-updates.
But how are the Reservations embracing digital sovereignty?
Digital mental health treatment: CMS expanded payment policies for digital mental health treatment devices under codes G0552, G0553, and G0554 for CY 2026.
Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Final Rules (“Final Rules”) Are Released: Plans and Issuers Must Prepare for January 1, 2025 Effective Date (US). Find more info: https://www.triagehealthlawblog.com/hhs/mental-health-parity-and-addiction-equity-act-final-rules-final-rules-are-released-plans-and-issuers-must-prepare-for-january-1-2025-effective-date-us/ .Mental Health Parity: The 2024 Mental Health Parity final rule had staggered applicability dates beginning in 2025 and 2026, but federal agencies later announced a pause in enforcement of certain new provisions while they reconsider the rule.
MAY RELATIVES' HIGHLIGHTS
SIP RETREAT & CONVENTION 2026
The convention preparations are almost in a wrap.
Calling all abstract submissions. Would you like to present at the convention?
Click here to learn how you can submit your abstract to be considered!
SIP Convention Keynote Speakers
Click play to hear a message from our 39th Annual SIP Convention Keynote Speakers. To hear from Dr. Bigfoot, click on her image below.
39th Annual SIP Convention
39th Annual SIP Convention
Dr. Fryberg
Dr. Bigfoot
Executive Committee Statement on ICE Enforcement and the Well-Being of Indigenous Communities
The Society of Indian Psychologists’ Executive Committee offers this collective statement in response to recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities affecting Indigenous communities. Grounded in Indigenous values, ancestral teachings, and ethical psychological practice, this commentary addresses the mental, cultural, and spiritual impacts of enforcement actions on Native peoples, emphasizing sovereignty, historical trauma, and the need for culturally responsive, healing-centered approaches.
THE YEAR 2026
For allies, agencies, organizations, and groups looking to produce a Land
Acknowledgment, we would like to share and amplify existing resources developed by
the Native Governance Center. We would like to urge interested parties to review in its
entirety the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Guide.
This guide takes you through some steps to developing a thoughtful, respectful, and well-
researched land acknowledgment.
Most importantly, we urge interested folks to take time to review the Beyond Land
Acknowledgement Guide.
This resource outlines some problems with land acknowledgements, including
asking Indigenous collaborators to develop the land acknowledgment, careless or
limited research to inform the statement, and a focus on verbiage and optics rather than
steps towards tangible allyship. This guide then walks readers through developing a
meaningful action plan for Indigenous allyship that moves beyond land
acknowledgment, including a self-assessment and action planning worksheet.
Updated March 27 2025 by Brian McNeill, Ph.D. (Nez Perce and Palouse)
